Wow, *the* Batman - or is it just "Batman"? Uh, your choice, of course!
Lately I've been in a big Batman mood, a lot in part because I recently bought and started rewatching the Batman Anthology. I was surprised to find that there were aspects of the first two Batman movies that I found shocking because I've learned more about Batman's code of conduct since I last saw the films. Batman actually killing people? I suppose really early Golden Age Batman killed with little conscience, but for years and years now it's been a pretty big part of his character to not kill no matter what. I thought it rather hypocritical of Bats to lecture Catwoman at the end of Batman Returns about not killing Max and sending him to prison when he'd been shown killing at least two people on camera (Joker's debatable). Whatever.
Still found the first two enjoyable even though I caught stuff that I didn't think aged very well. Vicki's 80s glasses, Joker falling to his doom (admittedly, even as a kid first watching Batman, that was terrible looking), the ridiculous sound effects used for guns, etc. Lots of stuff that I loved then that I still love just as much now. The music, the Batmobile, a Batman-voice that doesn't make me want to burst out laughing (why, Bale, why?), Batman Return's bittersweet ending, any scene with Joker, Alfred, or Catwoman, etc.
Now I just have to find the courage to watch the last two. I have vague memories of disappointment from when I first saw Batman Forever, although I did see parts of it again since then. Batman and Robin? I think I saw it once and then promptly blocked it from my memory.
I think soon I'll marathon through a bunch of BTAS which I haven't seen much of at all since it all originally aired in '92. I was lucky enough to snag the Complete Batman Animated Series boxset from walmart.com when I noticed that it seemed to be out of print at amazon. The only reason I think they still had it in stock was because they had the wrong preview image and were showing a 70s Batman cartoon set instead.
Still found the first two enjoyable even though I caught stuff that I didn't think aged very well. Vicki's 80s glasses, Joker falling to his doom (admittedly, even as a kid first watching Batman, that was terrible looking), the ridiculous sound effects used for guns, etc. Lots of stuff that I loved then that I still love just as much now. The music, the Batmobile, a Batman-voice that doesn't make me want to burst out laughing (why, Bale, why?), Batman Return's bittersweet ending, any scene with Joker, Alfred, or Catwoman, etc.
Now I just have to find the courage to watch the last two. I have vague memories of disappointment from when I first saw Batman Forever, although I did see parts of it again since then. Batman and Robin? I think I saw it once and then promptly blocked it from my memory.
I think soon I'll marathon through a bunch of BTAS which I haven't seen much of at all since it all originally aired in '92. I was lucky enough to snag the Complete Batman Animated Series boxset from walmart.com when I noticed that it seemed to be out of print at amazon. The only reason I think they still had it in stock was because they had the wrong preview image and were showing a 70s Batman cartoon set instead.